in Queen Mary's life, and if,
_after_ the dream was recorded, a document proving its accuracy should
be for the first time recovered, then there is matter for a good
dream-story. {8} Again, we dream of an event not to be naturally
guessed or known by us, and our dream (which should be recorded before
tidings of the fact arrive) tallies with the news of the event when it
comes. Or, finally, we dream of an event (recording the dream), and
that event occurs in the future. In all these cases the actual
occurrence of the unknown event is the only addition to the dream's
usual power of crumpling up time and space.

As a rule such dreams are only mentioned _after_ the event, and so are
not worth noticing. Very often the dream is forgotten by the dreamer
till he hears of or sees the event. He is then either reminded of his
dream by association of ideas or _he has never dreamed at all_, and
his belief that he has dreamed is only a form of false memory, of the
common sensation of "having been here before," which he attributes to
an awakened memory of a real dream. Still more often the dream is
unconsciously cooked by the narrator into harmony with facts.

As a rule fulfilled dreams deal with the most trivial affairs, and
such as, being usual, may readily occur by chance coincidence. Indeed
it is impossible to set limits to such coincidence, for it would
indeed be extraordinary if extraordinary coincidences never occurred.

To take examples:--

THE PIG IN THE DINING-ROOM

Mrs. Atlay, wife of a late Bishop of Hereford, dreamed one night that
there was a pig in the dining-room of the palace. She came
downstairs, and in the hall told her governess and children of the
dream, before family prayers. When these were over, nobody who was
told the story having left the hall in the interval, she went into the
dining-room and there was the pig. It was proved to have escaped from
the sty after Mrs. Atlay got up. Here the dream is of the common
grotesque type; millions of such things are dreamed. The event, the
pig in the palace, is unusual, and the coincidence of pig and dream is
still more so. But unusual events must occur, and each has millions
of dreams as targets to aim at, so to speak. It would be surprising
if no such target were ever hit.

Here is another case--curious because the dream was forgotten till the
corresponding event occurred, but there was a slight discrepancy
between event and dream.

THE MIGNONETTE